Slopping the kids and Three Sisters Chowder

The funniest thing happened to me today. At least I thought it was funny...hilarious actually. My good friend Kathy, whom I had just left, was calling my cell phone. I answered and she starts by saying you are not going to believe what Keith has done. She then proceeds to tell me that her, darling and wonderful, husband Keith had called to tell her he had prepared dinner for her. He had made a special trip to the store to buy seasoned ground turkey, eeewww, and a can of peas, eeewww again. He cooked the ground turkey and added the canned peas, then for good measure he topped it off with a can of sauerkraut! I am totally serious! I was mortified by this concoction but the story itself made me laugh hilariously. Who would think of such a combination of randomness? I asked my friend how and why he would think this was a good meal. She said that is how his mother cooked for him. Everything was thrown together and dumped on the plate. She slopped the kids in the same way you would slop the pigs. She did this with love of course. Hamburger Helper is an example of such a slopped meal. The story was humorous but sad as well. Even now kids are growing up eating like this. Random slop is being passed of as real food in their homes and schools everyday. It is so sad. Every time we talk about eating whole foods, veganism, or preparing delicious vegan meals for others, we run the risk of influencing someone in a very good and positive way. Keep talking, writing, cooking and education your friends, family, and coworkers. It is catching on and our kids are worth it.



Three Sisters Chowder

1T olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
1 lg clove garlic, minced
4 cups corn
3 cups black beans
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
3 cups homemade or really good store bought black bean and corn salsa
salt and pepper to taste

In large pan saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Process half of corn in food processor until relatively smooth. If using frozen corn you may need to add some water to process. Add beans (if using canned, drain and rinse) and corn to onions and mix well, cook for a few minutes. Add pumpkin and vegetable broth and continue cooking until hot. Add almond milk and salsa and stir well to combine. Continue cooking until hot but do not boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.

Roasted Garlic and Eggplant Sauce

This was my dinner last night. I served the sauce over brown rice penne and then served that over grilled zucchini. Someone asked for the recipe so I tried to remember exactly what I did. This is pretty close. It was delicious last night so if you give it a try please let me know what you think of it.





Roasted Garlic and Eggplant Sauce

1 large head of garlic
2 medium eggplant, washed, peeled and cut in 1/2" cubes
4 T olive oil - plus some for smearing the garlic head
3 cups chopped tomatoes with juices (fresh, boxed or canned)
1 med red onion finely chopped
1/8 cup fennel chopped finely
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t fresh chopped oregano or 1/4 t dried
1 T fresh chopped basil or 1 t dried
1 T fresh chopped parsley or 1 t dried
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

Marinate the eggplant. Place eggplant, vinegar, 3 T olive oil, basil, oregano, parsley and pepper in a large zip-lock bag or bowl, mix well and place in the fridge to marinate for at 20 to 30 minutes.

Roast the garlic. Heat oven to 400f. Remove outer papery skin from garlic head but leave head intact. Cut 1/4" to 1/2" off pointy end of garlic. You should be able to see the actual garlic in side. Smear the entire thing with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil or place in a small covered ramekin, cut side up. Roast for 30- 35 minutes or until cloves feel soft when press with a finger. When cool enough to handle squeeze soft garlic out of cloves into a small bowl and set aside.

Roast eggplant. Place marinated eggplant in a baking pan and roast for 30 minutes. Stir mixture often to prevent burning and ensure even roasting.

In frying pan over med heat saute onions and fennel, in remaining oil, until soft and fragrant. Add tomatoes and reserved garlic and stir to combine. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add eggplant mixture and stir to combine. Can be served now or reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes for added richness.

Enough sauce for 1 lb pasta.

Labor Day Breakfast Rhubarb Pie

Ok...it isn't really a breakfast pie exactly. I just named it that so we would have a reason to eat delicious rhubarb goodness for breakfast. And it isn't really a pie in the truest sense of the word. It is baked in a pie plate but is more like a Rhubarb crisp. I guess it seems the title of this post is totally misleading. That being said, if you love rhubarb and would like it for breakfast (or any other time) you won't be disappointed with this breakfastpiecrumblecrisp.



Rhubarb Breakfastpiecrumblecrisp ; )

5 cups rhubarb cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup sugar
2 T flour
2 t cinnamon
2 T soy creamer
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 cups old fashion oats
3/4 cup flour
1 c brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 c earth balance or other vegan margarine

preheat oven to 350f

Combine first six ingredients and place in a pie plate. In a medium bowl add oats, flour, brown sugar and vanilla. Add margarine and cut in with a pastry cutter or two butter knives. The mixture should look sandy...the margarine the size of peas. Pour the oat mixture on top of rhubarb mixture and cover evenly. Press down a bit with your hands. The entire thing will probably be somewhat mounded. Bake for about 45 minutes. It should be golden and bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream or drizzled with some coconut cream ( as in the picture) or plain and delicious!

Fat 101 - When is enough, enough?

Fat is a necessary part of a healthy diet. Ideally it should be under 30% of your total caloric intake per day. If you consume an average of 2000 calories a day your fat consumption should be between 44 to 67 grams of fat. If you only consume 1500 calories a day your fat consumption should be 33 to 50 grams of fat.

Fats can be extremely beneficial and also deadly depending on the amount and type being consumed. There are some amazing health benefits that go along with certain types of fats and adverse effects that go with others. The trick is knowing the difference and being sure to get enough of the healthy ones and limit or eliminate the unhealthy ones. Healthy fats help keep the skin and hair healthy, are important in transporting as well as storing the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, they also help keep you warm.

There are many different kinds of fat in the foods we eat. When fat is consumed our bodies break it down into individual components, the body then uses these components to build something entirely new...fatty acids. Other wise known as saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated.

Saturated fats are the most harmful and the Standard American Diet is full of them. They are found in animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) as well as palm and coconut oils*. Eating saturated fats has been linked with heart disease, strokes, and some cancers.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated are both in the unsaturated category. Monounsaturated fat is found in oils such as olive, canola and peanut. Polyunsaturated fat is found in nuts, soybean oil, safflower oil as well as cold water fish.

Our body is incapable of producing all of the fatty acids that we need. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) are called essential fatty acids (EFAs) because we must get them from the foods we eat. Both of these are polyunsaturated and better known as omega-3 and omega-6.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 are precursors to many other important fatty acids essential for infant growth as well as a healthy brain and eyes in adults and children. These fatty acids are also important in helping to prevent heart disease by lowering triglycerides and reducing blood clotting.

As mentioned earlier, without adequate fat in your diet you are unable to absorb the fat soluble vitamins which can result in a deficiency in any or all of them. A primary sign of a vitamin A deficiency is night blindness but also can lead to a diminished immune system. Bruising easily is a common symptom when vitamin K is not properly absorbed. A vitamin D deficiency, which leads to the inability to absorb calcium, greatly effects bone health. A vitamin D deficiency in children can lead to Rickets which leads to soft "bendable" bones. Vitamin D deficiency can also lead to a condition characterized by weak muscles and painful bones, known as osteomalacia. A vitamin E deficiency may eventually lead to muscle and nerve damage.

Fat is also a necessary nutrient for hormone production. It is an important structural component of prostaglandins. The prostaglanins regulate many of your bodies functions and can greatly effect the inflammatory response as well as influencing the bodies ability to clot blood.

There are many consequences of an extremely low fat diet just as there is with an extremely high fat diet. It can be dangerous or at best lead to dry, itchy skin and a slightly weakened immune system. For healthy cells, a healthy body and to efficiently absorb vitally important nutrients you need a sufficient amount of healthy fat in your daily diet.

*There has been much debate over the health benefits of coconut oil. There is another system of fatty acid classifications other than saturation. It is molecular size or the actual length of the carbon chain that make up the fatty acid. 98 to 100% of all the fatty acids you consume have Long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Coconut oil is made up of medium-chained fatty acids (MCFA) or medium-chained triglycerides (MCT). According to recent research MCFAs do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and surprisingly help to protect against heart disease and atherosclerosis. It is the MCFA in coconut oil that make it beneficial to health and not behave like a typical saturated fat such as that found in beef or whole dairy milk. Although a saturated fat it seems to have health benefits that may outweigh the detriments of a typical saturated fat. Ordinary people as well as renowned doctors have very strong beliefs on both sides of the coconut issue. I suggest you do your own research on this and draw your own conclusion.



References
American Heart Association: Know Your Fats
Anne Collins: What Do I need to Know About Fat?
Coconut Research Center: The Tree of Life
Global College of Natural Health: Dietary Guidelines
Nemours Foundation: Fats